Exasperated: Landlord Advice Desperately Required for Rent Allowance Tenant

the_syco

JustAThought wrote: »

cHECK your utility and phone/UZpS phone bills :0

Oh, and on this, if they're in your name, consider it a lesson learned, and also more money that you'll never see. If they're not in your name, the bills will follow her, and don't take over the bills.

the_syco

desaparecidos wrote: »

How can people who pay no rent have so much rights? Crazy.

Not sure, but I'd say a long history of english landlords with few rights for the Irish tenants over the past few hundred years played some part.

senordingdong

whippet wrote: »

Just be careful in how you go about this.

I have been through this process before and what I guess will happen is; as soon as you become properly assertive the tenant will dig their heels in and become very difficult to remove.

What you need to do is:

1 - Issue 14 Day notice of Arrears (giving 14 days for tenant to clear all arrears) - you will need to do proper research as to how this and the exact wording that is needed.

2 - If (when) the arrears are not clears after the 14th day you need to issue a notice of termination, giving 28 days (or what ever the required notice is in this case) to quit the accommodation.

3 - Should the tenant refuse to leave, you will have to open a dispute with the PRTB (I am assuming that you have registered the lease?)

4 - Wait (with out rent no doubt) for the PRTB shambles to have a hearing and then wait for a decision.
5 - If the tenant still does not move out then you may have to go properly legal and spend a fortune to get the tenant out.


the most disorganised, seemingly-stupid tenant suddenly becomes experts in all things regarding tenancy laws and should you make one wrong move you could find yourself having to fork out a five figure compensation fee to the free-loading tenant.

At this stage you should end all verbal communication, issue the proper 14 day notice letter and do absolutely nothing until the 14 days lapse (don't even go near the property) as any communication / action by you could be construed as harassment or failure to allow the tenant enjoyment of the property.

You will have to brace yourself for at least 6 months more with no rent ... but you will be wiser in the knowledge that you should never-ever-ever let a private accommodation to a RA / Social welfare tenant. You should only rent to someone whom you know has to work to pay for the rent. I don't care what anyone else might say, but after been bitten myself I wouldn't jump back in to the swamp to see if the next crocodile was any friendlier.

This.

Even if you go the legitimate route, it will take months, and you will be out by a minimum, MINIMUM, of five months rent.
That's not including legal fees and the rent between now and getting this sorted.

Guy at work had the EXACT same problem.
He simply waited until he knew the single mother and her 'intimidating' boyfriend were not home (probably holidaying in spain) then went to the house, took all their belongings out and left them in the garden, and changed the locks and alarm codes.

When they returned, they were told that they had been evicted and that was the end of it.

Naturally the scummers gave it loads about court, guards, solicitors all the rest but he played them at their own game.
A letter came, he binned it. Another letter came he binned it, a registered letter came, he refused to sign for it.
That was the last of it he ever heard on the matter.

Ya see, these things can be alot of effort for the scummer, and their solicitor too, so when it became apparent to the solicitor that pursuing this was going to cost alot more time that could be spent making money, he abandoned it.

Pal was delighted with the outcome, especially about how he took back control of his house, denying them the ability to trash before an eviction, but admitted that his other course of action was to burn the house down and claim the insurance.

Now I'm not saying that his solution is for everybody but anything that is a chore for you can be a chore for them too.
Also, don't be afraid to think outside the box, get the utilities knocked off, start scheduling viewings, get the neighbours to be very noisey at night and anything that might make the place unliveable and make her want to leave.

JustAThought

BostonB wrote: »

The only thing that matters is money in your account. Everything else is just babble.

SW will not deal with a LL. Reporting the tenant is a last, last resort. If they cut that off, you'll never get paid.

He hasn't been paid in 6 months.

She is being paid the rent allowance through our taxes & spending it on fags/holidays in Spain etc. While he is providing a service that she is claiming money to pay & not paying. Both landlord and the state are being shafted.

If he has filled out the forms to facilitate her cheating off the back of the state he should notify them . They way they can stop the slush fund to facilitate her SW cheating if the RENT allowance us not being paid for rent.

djimi

Stop randomly showing up at her house, seriously. If this ends up at a PRTB case she is going to say you kept harassing her by calling to the door unannounced repeatedly late at night. If you want the best chance of getting a result from this then follow the proper procedures to the letter. Stop playing silly games with her. Issue the 14 day notice of arrears, in writing and by post, and then have no further communication of any kind until you either get paid or issue a letter of eviction after the 14 days; again in writing and by post.

Grandpa Hassan

You have to issue the notice now. Imagine that she miraculously pays up in full by Friday....I would bet my own house on the fact that she'll be back in arrears in a few months. Unless you get her out you will go through this over and over again. And I am sure that you have better things to do.

In an earlier post you said that you were going to get tough. This doesn't sound much like it tbh

whippet

SparkySpitfire wrote: »

Thank you for helping me make the decision to never rent a property. My ethnically disgusting self is not welcome. Thank you for that.

before I got stung and ripped off I didn't think like this. When it comes to my property, my money and my family's welfare I tend not to want to take chances and this is the result.

Zulu

studiorat wrote: »

Let that be a lesson to the OP. As a landlord you deserve to be screwed

Reported.


OP, this is like watching a nasty car crash in slow motion.

1) forget about the arrears - you are not getting them
2) post via registered mail any communications to her.
3) stop hanging around outside her house.
4) forget about the arrears - you are not getting them

whippet

OP .... you are not doing this correctly.

Do not communicate with the tenant except by registered post.

Do not listen to a sob story again

Do not get emotional - this is now a business transaction

Do not expect to get any money from the arrears - they are gone

Cut your losses and deal with the current situation.

studiorat

Sell the house OP. Do something useful with the money. Stop being obsessed with property.

Originally Posted by whippet
The odds are firmly stacked in the favour of the tenant in ireland and as such I have now turned in to a Landlord who will only deal via an agent, stick to the black and white rules, isn't open to any RA / Social Welfare tenants, certain ethnic minorities or certain types of families.

Seriously, get out of residential letting before you turn into this...

D3PO

As others have said. Send the arrears letter registered post. Do this properly, instead of the half assed way you are currently going about this.

Grandpa Hassan

studiorat wrote: »

Sell the house OP. Do something useful with the money. Stop being obsessed with property.



Seriously, get out of residential letting before you turn into this...

Don't listen to studiorat....there is some amount of bitterness there

As others have said, take the emotion out of it, treat it like a business transaction, and do it by the book. Will keep you from getting burned

whippet

studiorat wrote: »

Sell the house OP. Do something useful with the money. Stop being obsessed with property.



Seriously, get out of residential letting before you turn into this...

I don't know if you are trolling or just don't have an understanding of reality. When I advertise my property for letting, I generally get about 20 enquiries within the first week - this is why I can choose the type of tenant I let it out to. It makes good business sense and lessens the risk of getting stung again like I did before. I am a private landlord not a Social Housing charity .. therefore I don't have to entertain sob stories and crap like the OP

I don't know about the OP's situation, but I am a landlord by accident, not choice. I have a house in NE that isn't a suitable home for my expanding family. I have the means to let out my NE house (at a loss against the mortgage outstanding) and move to a more suitable home.

I would love not to be a Landlord but at the moment I don't have a choice. I am fortunate that I can suck up the difference between rent received and mortgage repayments.

However, I am not obsessed with property like you suggest, just bought my first PPR in 2005 and can't sell it to make financial sense.

studiorat

Are you renting this more suitable home whippet?

Is the NE home worth less than you owe for it?

There's no bitterness at all, I've been in various permutations of the situation.
My advice is get out of residential letting altogether and run a business that doesn't involve the government or people on their own paying you for somewhere to live.

Residential property is not sustainable business.

Zulu

studiorat wrote: »

Is the NE home worth less than you owe for it?

You know how NE works? Right??

whippet

studiorat wrote: »

Are you renting this more suitable home whippet?

Is the NE home worth less than you owe for it?

by definition the NE home (Negative Equity) is worth less than the debt due on it.

And I am not renting my current home, I did rent for a while until I bought my current PPR. Renting isn't for me; for many reasons - especially the inability to make the property a proper family home.

I did have the choice at the time of using my savings to buy out the NE and continue renting for another 5-6 years, but make a decision based on the best interest of my family to use my cash as a deposit on a far superior family home in an area where I wanted to raise my family.

In a couple of years I might re-consider 'buying' out my NE - but at the moment this situation suits.

whippet

studiorat wrote: »

My advice is get out of residential letting altogether and run a business that doesn't involve the government or people on their own paying you for somewhere to live.

Residential property is not sustainable business.

You either haven't read or understood what I have said ... my stint of a landlord isn't about making money or creating a sustainable business; it is about doing what is best for me and my family.

I am one of many in this position. However, I am doing it by the book - PRTB, tax returns, letting agents etc ....

murphaph

studiorat wrote: »

Is the NE home worth less than you owe for it?

That's sort of the very definition of negative equity.

studiorat wrote: »

Residential property is not sustainable business.

You should tell these guys. Maybe they haven't heard.

Residential property letting in Ireland has issues that need addressing to make it better for all concerned but to say it's "unsustainable" when you don't even know what negative equity means is a bit of a stretch I'm afraid.

BostonB

JustAThought wrote: »

He hasn't been paid in 6 months.

She is being paid the rent allowance through our taxes & spending it on fags/holidays in Spain etc. While he is providing a service that she is claiming money to pay & not paying. Both landlord and the state are being shafted.

If he has filled out the forms to facilitate her cheating off the back of the state he should notify them . They way they can stop the slush fund to facilitate her SW cheating if the RENT allowance us not being paid for rent.

Its not clear if the tenant was always a RA tenant or this was a change that happened 5 months ago. The OP is pretty vague on the details. So your making one assumption. I'm making another that this is a change of circumstance.

There can be a backlog of months, with RA. SW expect the LL or tenant to take up the slack. So there is a slim chance the tenant will get this sorted and the LL will get the money. I have direct experience of this backlog. If the LL reports them, everything will be stopped, then there even less chance of the LL getting paid, ever.

If the Tenant has been receiving the cheques and not passing them on to the LL. The LL will never get any money. The only way to know this is to ring up local DSP and find out is their a delay, and how long is it. However you can't. In my experience they won't talk to a LL about anything, evening non specific delays.

So in reality for the LL non of this matters. Its between the LL and the tenant. Rent is late, you immediately give a letter of arrears, then termination as per the legal route.

If the situation continues then report them and they lose all their DSP payments. Which may force them out of the property. But its the nuclear option. Considering the state do nothing for the LL in these circumstance, I think the LL priority should be their own losses not the states.

SparkySpitfire

desaparecidos wrote: »

His choice, tough **** for you.

Of course it's his choice, it's his property. I am allowed disagree with it.
He rent out to white people exclusively if he wants. It's his property, he could only rent out to aliens if he really wanted!

But it's morally wrong to judge people on the colour of their skin rather than their character and reputations.

And as he is not alone in his views, I will never rent in Ireland for as long as I live.

whippet

SparkySpitfire wrote: »

Of course it's his choice, it's his property. I am allowed disagree with it.
He rent out to white people exclusively if he wants. It's his property, he could only rent out to aliens if he really wanted!

But it's morally wrong to judge people on the colour of their skin rather than their character and reputations.

And as he is not alone in his views, I will never rent in Ireland for as long as I live.

I never mentioned anything about skin colour what-so-ever .... it is your own stereotyping which assumed when I meant ethnic groups that I meant something to do with skin colour. The ethnic group I have had the most problems with were very much white and very much irish ......

Zulu

SparkySpitfire wrote: »

But it's morally wrong to judge people on...

WHile I agree with you somewhat, is it morally wrong to judge people based on your own experiences?

And as he is not alone in his views, I will never rent in Ireland for as long as I live.

Unfortunately for people who live here, who can't afford mortgages, and who aren't willing to live with their parents, there isn't a whole lot of choice in the matter. Hotel rooms are VERY expensive to live in.

studiorat

murphaph wrote: »

That's sort of the very definition of negative equity.


You should tell these guys. Maybe they haven't heard.

Residential property letting in Ireland has issues that need addressing to make it better for all concerned but to say it's "unsustainable" when you don't even know what negative equity means is a bit of a stretch I'm afraid.

Stop arguing semantics everybody knows what "negative equity" is. It's such a cliched term I'd rather not use it if that's OK with you?

Comparing degewo with the case here is equally as daft. Please try and make a useful response if you're going to bother a tall.

studiorat

Zulu wrote: »

Unfortunately for people who live here, who can't afford mortgages, and who aren't willing to live with their parents, there isn't a whole lot of choice in the matter.

Yes there is. Sell your property and do something useful with the proceeds.

whippet

studiorat wrote: »

Yes there is. Sell your property and do something useful with the proceeds.

you really should read the post you reply to in it's context !!!!!

This is about choices in renting ...

Why do you consider Negative Equity as a 'cliched term'? Its an economic reality.

You say that people should just sell up the property and get out if they are in NE? You obviously don't have a clue .. as the vast majority of people in NE can't actually sell .. they can only sell if they have the cash to pay the shortfall .. that is reality; as the banks who hold on to the deeds of the property will not allow them to sell.

You obviously have an axe to grind; but you are not making any sense.

SparkySpitfire

whippet wrote: »

I never mentioned anything about skin colour what-so-ever .... it is your own stereotyping which assumed when I meant ethnic groups that I meant something to do with skin colour. The ethnic group I have had the most problems with were very much white and very much irish ......

You said minorities,who's the other one? Yes I'll accept that and apologise for jumping to conclusions.

I can understand your reasoning but I just can't excuse it. But that's just my opinion and you don't have to like or care about it. And that's your way of business and I don't have to like that either.

To be clear, I don't mean animosity towards you, it was more the poster that swore at me that ruffled my feathers.

Eric Cartman

Op next time call to the door , if a kid answers ask to speak to an adult , if there is an adult there who is not on the lease ask their name and tell them that they are not on the lease and should not be living there , if the kids say they are on theor own ask when the mother is coming back and if they say 15-20mins wait outside the door, wait up to an hour and i she hasnt materialised text her and tell her youll be calling social services for leaving the kids alone in the house , id say shes in the house hiding

studiorat

whippet wrote: »

by definition the NE home (Negative Equity) is worth less than the debt due on it.

Ah HA HA HA HA HA!!!

I thought you were saying the house was in the North East!! And unsuitable for living in. The ass-end of Sligo or Donegal or something!! What a pillock!

:D:D

SparkySpitfire

Zulu wrote: »

WHile I agree with you somewhat, is it morally wrong to judge people based on your own experiences?

Unfortunately for people who live here, who can't afford mortgages, and who aren't willing to live with their parents, there isn't a whole lot of choice in the matter. Hotel rooms are VERY expensive to live in.

No it's not at all, in fact past experiences can be great indicator of future ones. But that's it, just indicators. The poster didn't have an experience with every single member of the minority so it would be totally inaccurate to tar then all with the same brush.

Caution is necessary but so is a but of tolerance. Call me naive but I'd like to live in a world where you're judged on,your own merits and demerits rather than the character of another person who just happens to share your ethnicity.

And yeah I understand that and Im grateful to not be in that position.

RainyDay

Eric Cartman wrote: »

Op next time call to the door , if a kid answers ask to speak to an adult , if there is an adult there who is not on the lease ask their name and tell them that they are not on the lease and should not be living there

What do you do when the person that answers refuses to give you their name, as they are fully entitled to do?